New Zealand and Australia soldiers stand during the ceremony celebrating the 99th anniversary of the Anzac Day in Canakkale, Türkiye on April 24, 2014. (PHOTO / AFP)
WELLINGTON – The New Zealand Defence Force will get an additional NZ$748 million ($472.14 million) over four years, as the government tries to stop the loss of military personnel and ensure the country’s military can operate alongside allies and partners.
Andrew Little said in a statement that the government would invest a further NZ$419 million in defense force salaries and NZ$328 million to upgrade assets and infrastructure over four years.
The defense force has been struggling with high staff attrition, which has led to the idling of three ships and the early retirement of the P-3 Orion aircraft fleet, leaving New Zealand with limited air surveillance capability
"With climate change and an increasingly contested geostrategic environment, including in our Pacific neighborhood, it is important that New Zealand has the personnel and equipment to play our part in supporting global peace and security,” Little said.
Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short said in an email that the new funding was the most meaningful funding allocation the military had received in many years, and was great news.
The defense force has been struggling with high staff attrition, which has led to the idling of three ships and the early retirement of the P-3 Orion aircraft fleet, leaving New Zealand with limited air surveillance capability.
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The infrastructure investment will upgrade the country's frigates and Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, as well as build a new fuel precinct at Ohakea air force base on the North Island. The salary increase will mean 90 percent of NZDF personnel are paid at or near market rates.
In the last two years, the Regular Force – full-time military personnel – has lost 29.8 percent of its personnel, excluding those who have served less than two years. That number is expected to hit 32.6 percent by June 30 if nothing is done as the defense force has struggled to match private-sector wages.